Wednesday, December 31, 2014
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| Photo by Richard Wilkins Jr. |
- Be honest, be straight forward, and communicate what I want.
- Hit the gym this year, and get down from the current 207 lbs. to 185.
- Go big- period. Do the thing in question, and don't question it after.
- Get that passport. Get on the move.
- Go up the Empire State Building this year.
- Spend my time on the people I should spend it on.
- Be fully independent minded.
- Pay down or off my debt.
- Attack not the person, but the argument.
- The dream need not be chased, because if you're doing things right, the dream will be achieved.
The year, by the months:
Some awards, by people/group:
- Politician of the Year- Mitch McConnell- While I hate it, he had the best year.
- Athlete of the Year- The shortstop, #2, Derek Jeter.
- Entertainer of the Year- David Letterman. This marks the end of his last full year.
- Pop Artist of the Year- Taylor Swift
- Album of the Year- Foo Fighters- "Sonic Highways"
- Most Significant Person of 2014- President Obama
The year in pictures:
Farewell, old friends who we have left behind.
I also wanted to give a few shout outs to some great people I dealt with this year. There was my team in Iowa with Anesa Kajtazovic, my team in New Jersey with Bonnie Watson Coleman, my team in New Jersey with OFA, my family who went to a lot of the many baseball games and beach trips, my long time old friends from Palmer and Easton, who have been with me through everything. There's my past co-workers and bosses who did a lot for me, like David Fried up in New York, my fellow alums of the Dodd Squad and Menendez teams, and my time with the PA House and Todd Eachus, many of you I still keep in close contact with. There are my friends in Philadelphia who I see from time to time, and my friends in New York who I like to go see as close to every week as possible. I got to re-connect with friends in Waterloo, Iowa, and around that state, and it was a very rewarding experience all these years later.
A few specific shoutouts here- my buddy Blanker from Bethlehem was crucial to a lot of my success this year, especially in New Jersey for BWC; Bobby, who got his start with me in 2012, for bringing me back to Jersey for this Fall, and getting me to a Notre Dame game; Tom who got me brought back to Iowa for round two, and helped me figure out what was going on; Anesa and Bonnie for not only being great candidates I could believe in, but also being joys to work with; James, Kari, Mark, and Sherrie, for putting up with me in Jersey this Fall and making it a great experience for me; Mike, Connor, Pooja, Dan, Dan, Calvin, Dorckas, Anne, and Rachel for being awesome there too; Majda, Stacey, and Alicia for making a thousand mile trip to Iowa an awesome experience for me (and for that Cyprus Lounge Shirt, Alicia); Conor for bringing me to OFA-NJ, and Monica and Jason for being awesome teammates there for a great cause; Cousin Mike for being the best damn bartender in the Lehigh Valley; EH (she'll kill me if I shout her out more) for being the best lunch buddy (and picking the best places to eat, ever) and advisor on so many things; D-Money, Baltz, Pfen, Strobes, Toddley, Minotti, and all of my long-time, old friends from home who mean the world to me; I know I'm missing someone here, which really sucks, but i'm going to close by thanking my family just for being my family, let alone being great people. Anyone else actually reading this, shoutout to you too, thank you!
This year took me from Washington, D.C. to Marshalltown, Iowa; It took me from Easton, PA to New York City, again. I took stops in places like Morristown and Trenton along the way. I do have to close though by thanking the people of Northampton County, specifically the Democratic Primary voters there, for voting for me to be on the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee for the next four years. I grew up here, I got my professional start here, and on a whim I put my name on a ballot here, spent no money, and 6,000 people voted for me this year. I'm proud of that, if for no other reason than the validation that it makes you feel when your home supports you.
Next year is going to be even better than this year was, and this year was great. I'm sad to see 2014 go. It was one of the best years of my adult life. May 2015 be even better, but we'll get to that in a few hours.
Happy New Year. It's an amazing world.
A few specific shoutouts here- my buddy Blanker from Bethlehem was crucial to a lot of my success this year, especially in New Jersey for BWC; Bobby, who got his start with me in 2012, for bringing me back to Jersey for this Fall, and getting me to a Notre Dame game; Tom who got me brought back to Iowa for round two, and helped me figure out what was going on; Anesa and Bonnie for not only being great candidates I could believe in, but also being joys to work with; James, Kari, Mark, and Sherrie, for putting up with me in Jersey this Fall and making it a great experience for me; Mike, Connor, Pooja, Dan, Dan, Calvin, Dorckas, Anne, and Rachel for being awesome there too; Majda, Stacey, and Alicia for making a thousand mile trip to Iowa an awesome experience for me (and for that Cyprus Lounge Shirt, Alicia); Conor for bringing me to OFA-NJ, and Monica and Jason for being awesome teammates there for a great cause; Cousin Mike for being the best damn bartender in the Lehigh Valley; EH (she'll kill me if I shout her out more) for being the best lunch buddy (and picking the best places to eat, ever) and advisor on so many things; D-Money, Baltz, Pfen, Strobes, Toddley, Minotti, and all of my long-time, old friends from home who mean the world to me; I know I'm missing someone here, which really sucks, but i'm going to close by thanking my family just for being my family, let alone being great people. Anyone else actually reading this, shoutout to you too, thank you!
This year took me from Washington, D.C. to Marshalltown, Iowa; It took me from Easton, PA to New York City, again. I took stops in places like Morristown and Trenton along the way. I do have to close though by thanking the people of Northampton County, specifically the Democratic Primary voters there, for voting for me to be on the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee for the next four years. I grew up here, I got my professional start here, and on a whim I put my name on a ballot here, spent no money, and 6,000 people voted for me this year. I'm proud of that, if for no other reason than the validation that it makes you feel when your home supports you.
Next year is going to be even better than this year was, and this year was great. I'm sad to see 2014 go. It was one of the best years of my adult life. May 2015 be even better, but we'll get to that in a few hours.
Happy New Year. It's an amazing world.
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| Jeter in Clearwater, FL. Photo by Richard Wilkins, Jr. |
- Bobby Abreu, my favorite Phillies player in my lifetime, retired from baseball this year. I feel his stats deserve a serious look for the Hall-of-Fame, so I hope to write about him when he gets in.
- Derek Jeter, the biggest icon of New York Sports in my lifetime, retired from baseball this year. DJ won't disappear from public life, but it will be weird not seeing him on the Yankees next year.
- Tom Corbett, the worst Governor in Pennsylvania in my lifetime, lost his re-election, and his career is over. While I won't miss him, I hate having to be so negative about anyone, so I wish him well.
- Paul Konerko, the White Sox legend who helped them win the only World Series in Chicago since World War I in 2005, retired from baseball. We'll write about him in the Hall-of-Fame someday.
- Mary Landrieu, daughter of a political legend, and a survivor in her own write for three terms, lost her Senate seat in Louisiana. While the "granola cracker liberals" cheered this, I didn't. We're going to miss the Blue Dogs when it comes to making deals.
- While Jimmy Rollins hasn't retired yet, the greatest shortstop in Phillies history was traded to Los Angeles, marking an end for us as Phillies fans. We'll still see him a little, but not nearly as much as we have. He's another I want to see make the Hall.
- Martin Brodeur played his last game as a Devil, and while he's not retired, closed the book on the greatest goaltending career in hockey history.
- The Colbert Report is done, and David Letterman's last show is in May, so it's worth acknowledging both now. Letterman will be missed, as will Colbert's old show, even if his new show is great.
- Charlie Crist is done being a quasi-national figure after his defeat at the hands of Florida Governor Rick Scott in that state's governor race.
- Senator Scott Brown's carpetbagging in New Hampshire didn't work. His career appears to be over.
- Donald Sterling, the racist owner of the Clippers, won't be missed from basketball at all. He made out like a thief though.
- Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 Winter Olympics, will be missed. It was beautiful.
- We won't miss the Afghanistan War at all after 13 long years.
- Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor was, to me, the ultimate survivor, continuing to win against impossible odds. That ended this year.
- Eric Cantor is now a part of history, having lost his home seat, and as a result, his Majority Leadership in the House.
I think I hit on all the main stuff here.
- Elizabeth Lauten was forced to resign her communications director job with a Congressman on Capitol Hill after attacking the President's daughters.
- After a House Intelligence Committee report shot down the entire fake Benghazi scandal, Rand Paul went fringer lunatic and said it was garbage.
- Much like in Ferguson, Eric Garner's killer, a police officer in Staten Island, was not indicted for killing him, setting off protests in New York and around the nation.
- The Eagles went 1-3 in December and missed the playoffs at 10-6.
- The Sixers avoided an 0-18 start by one game, keeping out of the record books for that.
- Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State, and Oregon made college football's first D-1 playoff.
- The Phillies traded all-time hits leader Jimmy Rollins to the Dodgers for two minor league pitchers.
- The "torture report" let us know that our government did things like force food up people's rectum. For real.
- Elizabeth Warren inspired the left with her fight against a spending bill that rolled back Dodd-Frank banking rules.
- We also, coincidentally came within hours of a government shutdown.
- Kobe Bryant passed Michael Jordan to become the third leading scorer of all-time.
- I did an interview with AdAge about how we use data on modern campaigns.
- Green Day was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall-of-Fame.
- Jeb Bush is running for President.
- Philadelphia DA Seth Williams indicted two State Representatives in connection to a corruption sting.
- President Obama took actions to protect Alaska's Bristol Bay.
- Russia went into a full-blown recession over a huge drop in oil prices.
- Senator Tom Coburn blocked a veterans benefit bill just to say he did it.
- A cafe in Sydney, Australia was seized by a crazed gunman. Australians reacted by bonding further with their Muslim brothers and sisters.
- President Obama takes steps to normalize relations with Cuba, including opening an embassy.
- Sony was hacked, which prompted it to pull-down it's opening of "The Interview" movie, and then go back on their own decision after criticisms of them stung too much.
- The Tampa Bay Rays were turned down for a new ballpark by St. Petersburg, their current home.
- The Colbert Report aired for the final time with a star-studded cast.
- Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed in Brooklyn, NY by an anti-police lunatic.
- NASA tests the rocket that will take us to Mars, they hope.
- U.S. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was exposed for having spoken to a white nationalist group.
- 2014 came to an end on a Wednesday Night at 11:59 pm.
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